Dream State – The Underworld, Camden

The Welsh alt-rock quintet comprising vocalist CJ, both guitarists Aled Rhys Evans and Rhys Wilcox, bassist Danny Rayer and drummer Jamie Lee just released their latest single ‘Hand In Hand’ (2019, UNFD) before heading out on their March / April UK tour. With their previously released Eps, Dream State presented a mix of emotional and raw lyrics underlined by heavy riffs and ambient melodies. Especially CJ’s powerful voice and rawness creates a vulnerable but at the same time dynamic atmosphere that is unique for the band, alternating between shouted and clean vocals.

Dream State

Dream State

Dream State

Dream State

Dream State

Around 7pm, the doors of the Underworld opened to lead a quite young audience downstairs into the venue, filling the room in front of the stage quickly. First band of the night was the London based emotive hardcore outfit Tropic Gold comprising guitarist Joshua, bassist Brad, drummer George and vocalist Jacob who made their live debut that evening. Musically, the present a mix of both screamed and clean vocals supported by heavy guitar riffs and melancholic ambient vibes. So far, they released two promising singles being ‘Human’ (2019, self-released) and ‘Living In Colour’ (2019, self-released) and are definitely a band to keep one’s eyes on. Setting up the energy levels high right from the start, the quartet got the crowd hyped and prepared the for the rest of the night. Next up was the alternative punk band Jack The Envious from London who heated up the room with their up-tempo and fast paced set. Third band of the evening was the Manchester based post-hardcore band Parting Gift who recently released their debut EP ‘Ensom’ (2019) via Fearless Records. With their dark and haunted emotive hardcore sound they created a spooky and vulnerable atmosphere in the venue. Zac Vernon’s voice was on point and delivered the emotions while George Barnes (drums) and Jack Dutton (guitar) created the energetic yet delicate sound to support the vocals. They got the crowd right from the beginning, having them screaming all the lyrics back to the stage.

Parting Gift

Parting Gift

Jack The Envious

Parting Gift

Tropic Gold

With Dream State entering the stage the crowd went mental. Everyone was off their feet dancing along, belting the lyrics back to the stage, crowd surfing and turning the whole area in front of the stage into one big circle pit. The post-hardcore quintet played a good mix of their released up to date including songs such as ‘New Waves’, their latest release ‘Hand In Hand’, the Linkin Park cover of ‘Crawling‘ and ‘White Lies’. CJ’s impressive vocal range was on point seamlessly switching between grunge-ish screams and softer clean vocals. Towards the end not only the audience was making their way up onto the stage but also CJ and Danny took their chance and surfed the crowd. Everyone seemed to have an amazing time and Dream State highly appreciated the energy and participation of the crowd.

Dream State

Dream State

Dream State

Dream State

Dream State

The acoustic was good for all four bands, while the light show was adequately adapted to each set. Tropic Gold and Parting Gift had the most simplistic and darkest shows which perfectly enhanced the ambience their music creates, while Jack The Envious and Dream State had slightly more colourful and dynamic lights which helped to create a more energetic vibe.

Overall, it was a lovely evening with talented and promising bands and great music. Both, the bands on stage and the audience seemed to have a great time and enjoying themselves. The bands gave their best which was highly appreciated by the audience who screamed all the lyrics back to the stage and turned the area in front of the stage into one big moving pit. It definitely was a special time.